Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Catherine King today told Australian Flying that the Federal Government's Aviation Recovery Framework ignored challenges facing the aviation sector.
“Labor welcomes the Morrison-Joyce Government’s focus on revitalising general aviation as part of its long-awaited aviation recovery framework, especially the investment in ADS-B technology which we know will make a big difference to the GA sector," King said.
“But the framework–which was twelve months in the making–glosses over a range of challenges confronting the aviation sector as a whole. These include how to transition into a new post-COVID normal as financial support for the sector tapers off, how to genuinely grow skills and expertise in Australia, and how best to unlock the potential of the aviation sector’s contribution to achieving net zero."
The framework and the subsequent CASA Statement of Expectations have both drawn wide acclaim from the GA sector, but many in the industry are concerned that the reforms outlined in both won't survive if the Coalition is not returned to power at the federal election in May.
“Labor will have more to say about our aviation policy as the election drawers nearer," King said, "but we have a proud history of supporting–and driving reform in–Australian aviation. Everyone involved in general aviation can expect this to continue under an Albanese Labor government."
The ALP has in the past tied their aviation policies to the Aviation White Paper produced by the Rudd government in December 2008, a position reiterated by then shadow minister Anthony Albanese at the AGAA summit in Wagga Wagga in 2018, and again in the ALP National Platform statement published in 2021.